Surrounded on three sides by the sea, Turkey has an important potential for fishing and aquaculture with a coastal length of 8,333 km, 177,714 km of rivers, 200 lakes, 953 ponds and 206 dam lakes. Aquaculture activities in Turkey started in the 1970s with species such as carp and trout, followed by sea bream and sea bass towards the midst of 1980s. Despite being a new sector, aquaculture grew rapidly to become Turkey's fastest-growing sector.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) figures, total fishery production in Turkey in 2015 was 672 thousand tonnes, out of which aquaculture had 36 percent share in terms of volume, and 70 percent in terms of value. Trout has the highest share in aquaculture with 45 percent, followed by sea bass with 31 percent and sea bream with 21,5 percent.

Turkey currently has 2,377 fish farms (1,950 inland and 427 offshore) with a total production capacity of 479 thousand tonnes.

The aquaculture sector plays a number of important roles such as creating employment, bringing in foreign capital, providing raw material for other sectors, reducing the hunting pressure on natural stocks, and facilitating the use of previously untapped water resources. In Europe, Turkey ranks first in trout production, and second in sea bream and sea bass. The country has a 25 percent share in the EU’s sea bream and sea bass market. Turkish fishery sector enjoys significant export potential. The sector’s export value has reached $692 million with a 24-fold increase in the last 15 years. Seventy percent of the country’s fish exports go to the EU.

Surrounded on three sides by the sea, Turkey has an important potential for fishing and aquaculture with a coastal length of 8,333 km, 177,714 km of rivers, 200 lakes, 953 ponds and 206 dam lakes. Aquaculture activities in Turkey started in the 1970s with species such as carp and trout, followed by sea bream and sea bass towards the midst of 1980s. Despite being a new sector, aquaculture grew rapidly to become Turkey's fastest-growing sector. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) figures, total fishery production in Turkey in 2015 was 672 thousand tonnes, out of which aquaculture had 36 percent share in terms of volume, and 70 percent in terms of value. Trout has the highest share in aquaculture with 45 percent, followed by sea bass with 31 percent and sea bream with 21,5 percent. Turkey currently has 2,377 fish farms (1,950 inland and 427 offshore) with a total production capacity of 479 thousand tonnes.

The aquaculture sector plays a number of important roles such as creating employment, bringing in foreign capital, providing raw material for other sectors, reducing the hunting pressure on natural stocks, and facilitating the use of previously untapped water resources.

In Europe, Turkey ranks first in trout production, and second in sea bream and sea bass. The country has a 25 percent share in the EU’s sea bream and sea bass market.

Turkish fishery sector enjoys significant export potential. The sector’s export value has reached $692 million with a 24-fold increase in the last 15 years. Seventy percent of the country’s fish exports go to the EU.